Downwind (2023)

2023 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!

From 1951 until 1992 the United States government detonated more than nine-hundred nuclear weapons in the Nevada desert–a remote location expected to present no threats to people living in the surrounding areas. Years later the world became privy to these acts, and they began to understand that a series of illnesses and deaths that may have once been chalked up as coincidence may all be connected. The people who lived Downwind, in one way or another, were test rats. These are their stories, and they want the world to know all that has transpired.

In one of the most depressing documentaries that I’ve ever seen, Downwind allows the people affected by the aftereffects of nuclear testing to tell the world what’s on their mind, and it presents them the opportunity to release a lot of pent up stress and frustration. I’m not sure that there's a way to accurately articulate how horrifying these events are, other than simply telling the stories like the individuals on screen do. Every aspect of the film, each and every story is straightforward, leaving nothing to the imagination. It seems that the purpose of Downwind is to out the government, and to make public each and every struggle that has been birthed as a result of this testing. It feels that the film and all involved are successful.

Each and every person on screen does what is asked of them. They convey emotion in incredible ways, but they, almost entirely, convey sorrow, pain, suffering, and other things of that nature. There is a juxtapositional decision made about an hour into the film, however, that employs comedy as a way to have viewers better appreciate all that is being said. At about that hour mark, Lewis Black, world famous comedian, enters–and his approach toward expressing the things that had once transpired is vastly different from how everyone else presents this material. His comedy (besides being hilarious) bridges any gap between the content and viewers. In this moment, as Black enters for the first time, the tone of Downwind shifts in a direction that makes the film easier to understand and appreciate–and it works wonders for the finished product.

An eerie whirring never relents throughout the duration of the film, and it creates a harrowing sense that something terrible is coming. It’s clear that the content present in Downwind is harrowing, and viewers know that there will be little positivity throughout the course of the film. This score constantly reminds us of the horrible things that occur throughout the film, and all of the terrible things that have transpired throughout history are presented in a way that’s fully accessible.

Downwind (ironically enough) is a beautiful marriage of horror and humor that presents the effects of nuclear testing to viewers in a unique fashion. I’m incredibly impressed by the slew of emotions that Directors Douglas Brian Miller and Mark Shapiro are able to bring to light throughout the film. They advocate for change, and they present viewers with a way to do that without being divisive or ostracizing. Downwind is a masterfully made documentary that should (and likely will) appeal to everyone.

Directed by Douglas Brian Miller & Mark Shapiro.

Written by Warren Etheredge & Mark Shapiro.

Starring Martin Sheen, Claudia Peterson, Ian Zabarte, Patrick Wayne, Joe Musso, Lewis Black, Michael Douglas, etc.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10